Miles comes across as relatively laid back as coaches go, and certainly Andy made progress under his wing. And post-Maclagan, the rest of Andy's team remains pretty much intact (hitting partner, fitness, physio) with Lendl as the new head coach.

The thing about Andy is that he is naturally very driven, single-minded & competitive. he's very analytical and a student of the game. There's not much else he'd rather be doing than excelling at tennis or enjoying other sports. He doesn't seem to enjoy the fame side of things, the limelight and other distractions. Plus he has the ultimate fairygodmother in the background, to act as a sounding board. So a mild-mannered coach is probably fine, as Andy probably knew precisely what HE wanted, could rely on his mum for advice, and would always give 110% anyway.

The impression I get of Laura is that she is the polar opposite. of course she wants to win. But I'm not sure how driven she is deep down. I think she comes across as easily distracted. She rarely seems to play to a plan, and most importantly I'm not sure she knows what she wants, or what needs to be done to make her a champion. Furthermore, I don't know if she enjoys the fitness and training aspect of being a professional, or sees it as a chore. To be honest, I get the same impression of Sloane Stephens too.....big on talent; but easily distracted and perhaps regarding those hard yards in training and the tactical element of the game as an annoyance, rather than a necessary step to success which should be savoured.

My point therefore is as someone who seems to have her head in the clouds, a hard taskmaster is almost certainly what she needs (not a Krajan who focusses on the negative, but someone like Tsonga's coach who focusses on the positives, but is a very ruthless disciplinarian) but she probably would hate every minute of it. Miles isn't that at all. She might get along with him, but do either of them really know what is required?

 

 

 

korriban wrote:

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The impression I get of Laura is that she is the polar opposite. of course she wants to win. But I'm not sure how driven she is deep down. I think she comes across as easily distracted. She rarely seems to play to a plan, and most importantly I'm not sure she knows what she wants, or what needs to be done to make her a champion. Furthermore, I don't know if she enjoys the fitness and training aspect of being a professional, or sees it as a chore. To be honest, I get the same impression of Sloane Stephens too.....big on talent; but easily distracted and perhaps regarding those hard yards in training and the tactical element of the game as an annoyance, rather than a necessary step to success which should be savoured.

My point therefore is as someone who seems to have her head in the clouds, a hard taskmaster is almost certainly what she needs (not a Krajan who focusses on the negative, but someone like Tsonga's coach who focusses on the positives, but is a very ruthless disciplinarian) but she probably would hate every minute of it. Miles isn't that at all. She might get along with him, but do either of them really know what is required? 

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 I don't think that I have a clue whether Miles will be a good coach or not. I would agree with korriban though, that unless Laura becomes serious about her fitness, and tactics - and obviously sorts her head out, then it won't matter whether she has the best coach in the world. She just won't reach her potential.

Come on Laura, pull your finger out!

Pretty much my thoughts, Spectator.

What is clear that not only is she still only 19 and the best ranked teenager in the world ( though for what it matters may have a fight for that soon ) she clearly has still great room for improvement such as her serve, general consistency and movement.

I think these seemingly repeated faults really frustrate many who want to see jam today, but different players mature at different rates ( and as you suggest some impressions may be rather mistaken anyway ).

Laura has anyway overall progressed very well in the last year. Of course not linearly, but anyone doubting that just check out her ranking and CH this time last year. Huge progress, yet so many doubts, so many questions get raised about her.

I myself I must admit would love to see her serve being sorted out somehow ( to even become a weapon ) because that surely would make such a difference.

Overall, still much could ( indeed should ) lie ahead for her and with her big game ( bigger probably than all her rough contemporaries such as Stephens and Beck ) and already notable scalps, I feel if she gets a coaching relationship that really works for her ( and yes maybe a change in her own mindset ) she is one player who could quite suddenly make very big strides forward towards the top 10. For the last 5 years I have personally never veered from thinking that top 10 sometime is her likely ultimate destination.

Let's just hope that this latest coaching match up can make her miles better !

I'm sure Miles is a great coach. Being "upgraded" for an 8 time GS champion known for ruthlessness and attention to detail after having delivered 3 years of good progress for Andy would seem to reinforce the impression of Miles doing a great job. I hope Laura is as good a pupil as Andy.

Tara Moore and James Marsalek were there too (possibly others as well, but those two were definitely there), so I think it must be the former and no cause for alarm.

Would love to see Laura Robson going further in her tennis career and even though she has a lot of room to improve I think she will step up to the task as she develops as a player and gains more experience :)

I have noticed that Laura is now entering primarily Premier level tournaments, and I am assuming that this is because she has reached the stage where International level tournaments will not significantly improve her ranking without reaching at least the semi-final in these events. Even though reaching a SF would give her a fair points increase the ranking rise that resulted would be minimal.